I know. You are caught between two sides. On one side, you want the very best flavor, aroma, and mouthfeel in your cup of coffee; quality matters to you. On the other side, money matters. You have many things calling for your dollars. So is $15 for a pound of coffee plus $7 shipping worth it? $22 for a pound of coffee is a big investment.
Here are five things to think about with our pricing structure.
Not all coffee is specialty. The Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) considers specialty as any coffee rated with a cupping score of 80 points or higher. Sure, Folgers or Maxwell House are cheaper. But as one coffee taster said, it tastes like unhappy children.
All of our coffees are rated at 80 or higher, mostly 85 or higher. Our cupping scores are posted on each product detail page.
Let's compare to some major specialty roasters in the industry. We're coming in significantly lower per pound as compared to them. Feel free to order from them, they do an excellent job as well. But you'll get excellent coffee through Joe by Schmo for less money.
Counter Culture Coffee - Ethiopia Banko Gotiti 12oz $19.25
Intelligentsia Coffee - Ethiopia Tikur Anbessa 16oz $21.00
Ultimo Coffee - Ethiopia Banki Gotiti 16oz $19.00
Stumptown Coffee Roasters - Ethiopia Mordecofe 16oz $18.00
Starbucks - Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Chelelektu 8.8oz $17.50
If you live in the Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, you can pick-up your coffee and there will be no shipping fee. Checkbox the local pickup option when you check out. We will email you after you place your order to make arrangements for pickup.
If you live outside the area, pickup is probably not an option for you. Maybe this next option could work for you.
Our shipping rates are based on USPS Priority pricing. Their rates change by destination zip code, weight, and size of the package. In their calculus, a two pound package is not double the cost of one pound. As the pounds increase, shipping costs rise at a lower level. Here are our Winter 2017 rates for anywhere within the U.S.:
Up to 1 pound: $7.00
Up to 2 pounds: $10.00
Up to 3 pounds: $12.00
Up to 4 pounds: $15.00
Over 4 pounds: $20.00
Buying two pounds together will cost you less than buying two pounds individually. If a 1-lb pack is $14, you'd pay $28 + $10 shipping = $38.00. Individually, you'd pay ($14 + $7 shipping) x 2 = $42.00 for the same 2 pounds.
Most of our coffees at Joe By Schmo are something called "Farm Gate". This type of purchasing model creates direct relationships between a farmer or their local cooperative and the US importer. How this works is that the importer from the United States travels to farms in a coffee producing country to build a personal relationship with that farmer. Sometimes, this relationship is between importer and the cooperative of a village's coffee farmers. The cooperative uses the relationship to build schools, or better quality mills enabling them to gain more for their produce. This type of relationship eliminates several layers of middle-men and allows the importer to pay more to the farmer. Your purchase is strengthening families and communities in developing nations.
Additionally, supporting Joe By Schmo and other local companies with your hard-earned dollars instead of the nationwide chains builds up the little guys in a world designed to keep the big guys on top. We are bombarded with thousands of images every day that cement our connection with the McSo-and-Sos. But when you use your buying power to support local, it keeps our local economy chugging away. Yeah local!